■ OIL
IEA warns of recession
High oil prices could tip the world economy into recession, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. “That’s possible,” IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka said on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Rome. On Monday, the IEA chief had said that oil prices, at their current levels, were “too high for everyone, especially for developing countries who face other significant costs increases, namely food prices.” The IEA represents the interests of the oil-consuming countries. World oil prices eased only slightly in Asian trade yesterday after once again spiking to a record high of US$117.56 the day before amid reports of pipeline sabotage in Nigeria and the refusal on the part of OPEC to raise output for the time being.
■ TRADE
Nomura employee probed
Japan’s top brokerage firm Nomura said yesterday that one of its employees was under investigation by the country’s financial watchdog over alleged insider trading. The government vowed a stern response over the case, which reportedly involves a 30-year-old employee at Nomura Securities who is suspected of leaking confidential merger and acquisition information to two acquaintances. The three Chinese men allegedly made about ¥40 million (US$388,000) in profit through insider trading in 2006 and last year, the Nikkei Shimbun reported, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The Tokyo District Prosecutors Office could arrest the Nomura employee anytime, Jiji Press news agency said.
■ AVIATION
Alitalia could lose license
Italian aviation authorities were warning they could revoke Alitalia’s flight license if it fails to meet its obligations, including safety. The warning came yesterday from Vito Riggio, the chairman of Italy’s civil aviation agency ENAC, following Air France-KLM’s announcement that it was abandoning its offer to buy Alitalia. Riggio’s comments on a state radio talk show highlighted aviation authorities’ worries that Alitalia’s failure to guarantee enough funds to operate for at least 12 months could compromise safety.
■ ELECTRONICS
TI profits up 28 percent
Texas Instruments (TI) said on Monday its first-quarter profit rose 28 percent as strong demand for analog chips used in electronic equipment offset lower sales of cellphone chips. Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc. reported net income of US$662 million, or US$0.49 per share, including a tax gain of US$0.06 per share. A year ago, the company posted profit of US$516 million, or US$0.35 per share. Sales rose 2.5 percent to US$3.27 billion, compared with US$3.19 billion last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected adjusted profit of US$0.43 per share on slightly higher sales of US$3.28 billion.
■ INVESTMENT
Wealth management grows
Southeast Asia is seen as second only to China in growth potential for the wealth management field, a survey of wealth managers by Barclays Capital said yesterday. Asia’s wealth management growth is not expected to slow over the next two years, the survey showed. China was seen as the market with the highest revenue growth potential by 80 percent of the 91 respondents from 57 wealth management organizations across Asia, excluding Japan. Southeast Asia emerged second. About 60 percent of the wealth managers expected annual revenue growth of more than 15 percent from India, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the